Alma de Hierro
by Chibi Horsewoman
Summary: Alma de hierro means soul of iron. Miele's going to need that when she breaks out of the mold set for her by being the sister of a Winx Club member and attends Cloud Tower instead of Alfea.
1. We Are Not Amused

**Alma de Hierro**

** Summary: Alma de hierro means soul of iron. Miele's going to need that when she breaks out of the mold set for her by being the sister of a Winx Club member and attends Cloud Tower instead of Alfea. There she meets other witches in training as well as a few fairies and specialists. And learns that no matter how far you run, you can't escape who you are.**

** Note: I know that a lot of people know Flora's sister as Rose from the 4Kids version of Winx Club, but I liked the name Miele better. So since this is my story, that's what her name is going to be.**

** Dedication: Anyone who was waiting for me to update my other story about Miele at Alfea. **

** Disclaimer: Nearby is the country they call life, you will know it by its seriousness. Give me your hand.**

**Chapter One: We Are Not Amused**

**_Linphea_**

Miele was rushing around her bedroom at her parents' house trying to finish packing while her sister Flora bustled around unpacking her bags. Flora then repacked them in a way that she liked better much to Miele's ire.

"I can't believe you're all grown up and heading off to I for school." Flora gushed as she refolded her little sister's underclothes and pajamas then stuck them back in the suitcase.

Miele looked over at Flora and sighed, she'd been hoping to get her bags packed and downstairs before the shuttle came for _this_ year of school, not the next one.

"Yeah I know." Miele replied calmly as she moved her last bag out of Flora's reach so she couldn't re-pack it. "Mom and dad said the same thing to me last night before you and Helia came over with your news."

"I know! But it's just so exciting. Making new friends, getting to know your professors, learning new spells." Flora began to get misty eyed.

Miele winced when her sister mentioned the part about spells, but held her tongue and continued to stuff the last few pairs of pants into her duffel bag.

"You're just going to love Alfea." Flora gushed.

Miele sighed loudly as she grabbed the suitcase Flora had been re-arranging then turned to face her sister. "Flora, there's something I need to tell you."

"Yes? What is it?"

The younger brunette checked to make sure Flora couldn't reach anything sharp or heavy, and then plunged in.

"I'm not going to Alfea." Miele announced solemnly.

"Then where are you going? I know Red Fountain started accepting girls now."

"It's not Red Fountain. I talked it over with mom and dad over the summer and they're okay with it."

"But if you're not going to Alfea or Red Fountain, where is it that mom and dad are okay with you going to?" Flora asked in a quietly confused tone of voice.

"I enrolled at Cloud Tower School for witches." Miele replied calmly.

Flora's cries of protest were loud enough to get the rest of the household rushing up the stairs like a herd of wild animals.

"What's happening here?" Dahlia, Flora and Miele's mom asked in worried voice looking around for signs of a struggle. Seeing that neither girl was bruised or even scratched she heaved a sigh of relief then commenced to scolding.

"Flora, why are you carrying on like that?"

"Miele's going to Cloud Tower!" Flora shouted at her mother. "And you and daddy knew about it!"

Helia turned as white as a lily and clutched the doorjamb."You're kidding right?" He croaked, worry straining his features.

"No, I'm not kidding." Miele snapped. "Why can't either of you see it my way?"

"And what way is that?" Flora demanded icily. "How can you want to go to Cloud Tower of all places?"

"At Alfea everyone would know me as the sister of one of the Winx girls. I'd be expected to act like you, have your personality, your strengths and weaknesses. I'd practically be expected to be you!"

Miele paused so Flora could absorb what she was saying, and then continued. "I love being your sister, but I don't love being expected to be just like you."

Flora was silent mulling over everything that had just happened. Her little sister had just confessed to being accepted into Cloud Tower because she didn't want to live in Flora's shadow. And their parents were condoning the whole thing. She just couldn't believe it.

Finally Flora decided to speak, and it may have been the pregnancy hormones, or the fact that she'd been kept in the dark all summer, but Flora sounded pissed.

"I really wish you'd told me how you felt sooner Miele." Flora stated in an icy tone.

Miele looked up at her sister shocked, "Well I didn't see how it was any of your business where I was going to school." She snapped back, matching Flora's tone perfectly. "And seeing how you're acting, I believe I did the right thing not telling you."

"But still, Cloud Tower? What will my friends say?"

"Flora!" Dahlia exclaimed at her older daughter's statement. "That's enough."

"I don't care what your friends say!" Miele shot back. "When they have kids they can care, but it's not your decision or theirs. This isn't about you or them, it's about me."

Flora nodded and replied quietly, "You're right it's not. But I don't believe I'll ever be okay with your decision." Then she turned and left the room, Helia trailing behind her.

"Well, that went rather well." Dahlia quipped.

"What do you mean by that mom?" Miele asked in disbelief as she picked her bags up off her bed.

"I was worried she'd throw something at you."

Miele sighed loudly, not sharing her mom's sense of dry humor. "Just keep me updated on how Flora's doing with the baby."

**_Insert witty expression here_**

**Well there you have it, my new chapter and a new story for the New Year. I know it was a short beginning and Flora was OOC, but she's pregnant so that's the reason for that. I'm working on my other characters now and the rest of this story. As always, updates will be sporadic. Thanks for reading. **


	2. Unlikely Confederates

**Disclaimer:**** "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt**

**Chapter Two: Unlikely Confederates**

The journey of a thousand miles is most likely to start with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire. Miele's trip from Linphea to Magix wasn't much better. The shuttle driver managed to get lost on the way to Magix after picking up a few students from Andros, and somehow wound up near Eraklyon. After a few more wrong turns the driver finally consulted his maps and brought them to Magix amidst turbulence so fierce Miele felt like she was stuck in a washing machine. When the shuttle belatedly arrived at the gates of Cloud Tower, Miele scrambled out bruised and battered and fought against the urge to kiss the pavement.

"You're late." Were the first two words that the head of discipline, Professor Edeltrude, spoke to Miele and the other girls who came off the shuttle.

Miele couldn't see how this was their fault as they were neither the driver nor the shuttle itself, merely passengers who were lucky to not have sustained any gaping wounds. But she didn't feel it was her place to state that fact to the hawk-nosed woman. However a fellow passenger did.

"Professor Edeltrude, I don't see how you can fault us for a problem that is obviously beyond our control." A girl with wavy midnight blue hair, pale skin and deep aqua blue eyes opined.

"And you are?" Professor Edeltrude asked, pulling out her clipboard.

"I'm Melusina (1) from Brandelois (2), a first year student." The blue haired girl replied smoothly. "If you must know, it's a miracle we all survived such a ghastly trip."

"No need for dramatics Ms Melusina." Professor Edeltrude scolded as she checked the Brandeloisian girl off the list. "Please collect your bags and go settle yourself in your dorm."

Melusina did as she was told and Professor Edeltrude motioned Miele to come forward next.

"Name?" she asked.

"Miele of Linphea." Miele answered quickly, she was determined to show this lady that she wasn't easily intimidated.

Professor Edeltrude's shrewd eyes swept over Miele's face as she checked the name off her list. "Miele of Linphea hmm?"

"Yes, ma'am," Miele replied crisply, "my parents and I sent in the registration form a few months back."

"You look familiar." The sour faced woman stated mid-check.

Miele felt her face grow warm, but just smiled and pushed back a strand of her strawberry blond hair. "A lot of people say that. But that's the problem with being from Linphea, many of us have some of the same physical characteristics."

"Either way, you still look familiar."

Then without waiting for Professor Edeltrude to comment further, Miele grabbed her bags and hurried into the building.

After a few wrong turns Miele found herself in the first year dorms standing in front of a door with her name on it. Incidentally the other name on the door was Melusina. Miele thought this was a good sign. Too bad she was wrong.

"Hey," The blue haired girl greeted in a distracted manner as Miele entered the dorm. "I never thought we'd be interrogated for delaying a shuttle did you?"

"Not really." Miele replied smoothly as she set her bags down on the other bed in the room. Melusina had claimed the one closer to the window. "I can't imagine why Professor Edeltrude would think we'd have anything to do with it." She looked around, noting the room was dark and the furniture gothic in design.

Melusina shrugged her broad shoulders. "I guess she figured since we're witches in training we needed something to do on the trip. I already know you're Miele, so where are you from? I ask because you got on the shuttle before I did."

"Linphea." Miele stated simply as she began to unpack the manual way.

"Oh, you're a tree hugger then?" Melusina chuckled as she directed her socks and shirts into different drawers. Seeing Miele's stormy face she sobered. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me. It's just that's how we refer to people from your world on my planet."

Miele scowled, "Whatever. You're from Brandelois... I don't believe I've heard of that planet."

"That's because we're not that big, we don't even have a guardian fairy like Linphea." Melusina explained quickly. "We're famous for beautiful women, water and storms though."

Miele took a quick glance at her new roommate and wasn't sure what to make about the comment about beautiful women. Melusina wasn't short, but she wasn't much past five and a half feet tall. Her shoulders were too broad, her nose was narrow and her face was still round with baby fat even though she had to be at least sixteen. Yes, Melusina carried herself with perfect poise, but except for her pale skin and large aqua colored eyes there wasn't much that was remarkable about the blue haired girl from Brandelois.

"Okay." Miele finally said, for lack of anything better. "So, what's your power?"

"Storms, mostly rains and wind. I'd like to be known as the storm witch of Brandelois."

Miele nodded and then there was some awkward silence as Melusina continued conducting her clothing and other items into their assigned spots.

"Aren't you going to ask what my power is?" Miele finally asked.

Melusina looked up from her task with a sly smile on her red lips, "You're from Linphea, which means you've most likely got some type of powers over nature." The dark haired girl stated bluntly. "It's not worth asking about the obvious."

Miele shrugged and went back to her unpacking. She wasn't about to continue a conversation with Melusina at this point.

Later in the afternoon when the unpacking and organizing had finished and the awkwardness in the room had reached its peak, other voices came from the room connected to Miele and Melusina's.

"Get back in there!" A melodious female voice ordered while another began screaming.

"I hate bugs! Why did I have to have a roommate who has bugs?" The other voice shrieked.

"Oh relax, Ophelia won't hurt you." The first voice reasoned. "She's quite sweet."

"It doesn't make her any less creepy!" The second voice shot back.

"Do you think we should see what's going on?" Miele asked as Melusina began making her way to the door that separated the two rooms.

Melusina turned and gave Miele a look that said 'What do you think I'm doing, stupid?' then opened the door to see two girls arguing about a spider

"What's all the noise in here?" The blue haired girl demanded. "A person would think that you were trying to raise the dead."

Both girls, one with shiny waist length black hair and gray eyes who was holding on to a large spider and the other with light chestnut colored hair that curled around her head to her shoulders and dark brown eyes, stopped their arguing long enough to stare at their intruders.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" The brunette asked sounding indignant.

"Yeah this is our room." The black haired girl added as she tucked the spider into a clear plastic case.

"Separated by one door and a thin wall." Melusina finished. "So, what's the deal?"

"There is no deal." The brunette shot at Melusina, much to Miele's chagrin. "I just hate bugs, and my roommate controls them."

"I'm from Arachna, and that's what happens on that planet." The black haired girl stated defensively. "And for the record, spiders aren't bugs."

Miele decided that now would be a good time for an intervention, and since Melusina wasn't exactly the intervention type, it was up to her to do it.

"How about we just stop right there and introduce ourselves?" Miele interrupted before another spat started. "I'll go first, I'm Miele from Linphea."

"Oh I've heard of Linphea, they have some trade with Arachna (3) involving lady bugs and some other things." The black haired girl stated.

"I'm Octavia (4), by the way. My parents have some sick sense of humor because the name means eighth and my power involves bugs."

"I'm with your roommate, the spider is creepy." Melusina stated making it a point not to make eye contact with the plastic case containing Ophelia.

Miele suppressed a grin at the fact that her overbearing roommate had a distinct fear of all things creepy and crawly.

"I'm Lorelei (5) from Ayortha (6). And I'm a song witch." The brunette stated simply.

"And I'm Melusina from Brandelois. I've power over storms, and two younger sisters." Melusina told the others. "And while this 'get to know your suite mate session' is fun and all I want to go get ready for bed."

"Well, she's definitely a charming individual." Lorelei commented after Melusina had left the room.

"Tell me about it." Miele replied with a sigh. "That girl's gonna be the death of me, I just know it."

"You can always stick Ophelia in her bed if she gets to be too much." Octavia offered, gesturing at her spider which was lying peacefully under a heated stone in her container.

"That seems too cruel even for a witch." Lorelei chided her roommate who just shrugged.

"Hey if she deserves it, she deserves it." Octavia argued back crossing her slim white arms across her chest.

Privately Miele agreed with Octavia.

The three girls talked for another hour or so until Octavia couldn't control her yawning anymore.

"I guess that means it's time for me to go." Miele stated between her own yawns.

"Yeah, tomorrow is the first day of the rest of our lives." Lorelei joked as Miele let herself out.

_A few hours later, Miele's dorm_

Miele was having a restless night in her new room at Cloud Tower. Finally around two in the morning after tossing herself out of her twin bed and landing on the plum coloured throw rug the Linphean native had had enough. She untangled herself from the indigo tinted sheets and took herself to one of the towers for solitude. Despite Miele's rash decision to attend Cloud Tower and her parents' support of her choice, she still wasn't completely settled with the idea of being a witch.

The main reason was because it had to remain a secret between Miele and her parents. This made sense because despite the fact that it was understood not all witches were bad, it was still considered scandalous to have one in the same family as a guardian fairy. Everyone seemed to be afraid what could happen to Flora in her condition if she found out her little sister had dark magic running through her veins. Miele didn't think it would do much damage, but she did agree to wait until after Flora and Helia had their baby to break the news.

The other reason Miele wasn't settled with the idea was the simple fact that it was such a rarity on Linphea to have any trace of dark magic. She may have been a magical being, but Miele was still a teenaged girl who wasn't keen on the idea of being an outsider in her own family. Even if her mother did insist she had a witch or two way down on the family tree, that did little to soothe Miele's feelings of freakishness when they arose. And arise they did especially after the first time Miele found out she wasn't a prime candidate for Alfea.

_Flashback to Linphea last spring_

"Mom!" Miele shouted in a panic. She'd been trying to concentrate her magic to turn one small strawberry plant into a patch of strawberries. Instead Miele had misfired, focused on a garden slug and enlarged the slimy thing into the size of a lap dog.

Luckily for Miele she'd been able to reverse the spell since she'd watched Flora botch things up and fix them for years. So there was no major damage unless you counted the untimely end of a garden gnome.

Unfortunately for Miele when she tried to focus her magic for the reversal she'd transformed and was now wearing a bright red jumper with a flared skirt over a white blouse with puffed sleeves. A black sash was around her waist and she wore a choker with a jeweled red rose. There were also no wings to speak of; hence the panic in her voice.

"_Mom_!" Miele tried again, louder and more urgent this time. "Come quick something happened!"

"What is it Miele?" Dahlia called back sounding nervous as she ran into the back yard. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the gnome carnage and Miele kneeling on the grass wearing clothes she definitely hadn't left the house in."What happened?"

Miele looked up at her mom and tried not to cry.

"I had an accident."She blurted out, "I was trying to multiply the strawberry plants, but instead I kinda enlarged a garden slug."

"Where is it?" Dahlia asked sounding disgusted, but relieved at the fact her daughter wasn't hurt.

Miele shrugged her shoulders as her outfit faded back to her old pink t-shirt and ratty jeans. "I got rid of it by focusing more of my energy." She explained carefully, "But it wasn't a fairy form, it was something else."

"So I noticed. You didn't have wings and your make up… well I haven't seen you with eye shadow like that since you and Flora played 'salon'."

Miele sighed at the reminder of her younger years experimenting with makeup. "Yeah, no wings, and it's just… mom am I a witch then?"

Dahlia pursed her mouth and furrowed her brow.

"More than likely." She finally replied, "There are a few in our family. Your great-great grandmother on your dad's side was our most recent witch." Dahlia paused, but saw the worry lines in her daughter's brow so she quickly added, "But she wasn't evil."

"Does Flora know?" Miele asked cautiously as the ancestry and the fact that genetics really do suck sometimes began to sink in.

"No, and right now I believe that should be our little secret." Dahlia gave her daughter a conspiratorial look.

"Okay, for now. So I guess we should start the application for Cloud Tower."

_End flashback_

Miele stayed in the solitude of the tower for an hour or so with her thoughts from the past year and her mother's request to keep everything a secret. Then feeling her eyelids grow heavy, Miele began making her way silently back to her room. Once there she crawled back into bed and, pulling the dark violet blankets over her head, prayed for a dreamless sleep.


	3. Learning Curve

**Alma de Hierro**

**Dedication:**** My reviewers. And my Beta reader Robert Teague. I can't get through this without the lot of you. **

**Disclaimer:**** "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education"- Albert Einstein.**

**Chapter Three: Learning Curve**

When she finally awoke the next morning, Miele discovered two things. The first was that late sleepless nights were torture on your appearance. The second was that Melusina slept with a care worn stuffed mermaid. Luckily for the storm witch, Miele was too tired from her nocturnal wandering to give her any trouble over her bed buddy- at least for the time being.

Miele collected her clothing and toiletries hoping to be the first one to the bathroom she'd share with the other three girls for the school year. However that wasn't to be, Lorelei had gotten there first and was taking her sweet time singing in the shower. By the time the chestnut haired witch in training had finished getting ready, Miele felt her eyeballs were floating.

"Finally!" She exclaimed in relief as Lorelei exited the bathroom.

Lorelei raised one sandy eyebrow at Miele. "Didn't you know that there are two bathrooms in this suite?" she asked curiously.

"No, but I'll keep that in mind for tomorrow." Miele replied sheepishly as she slunk past Lorelei into the bathroom to get ready for breakfast and the classes beyond that.

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day for a young witch, was not without its issues. The main issue being where to sit after one picks up her dehydrated scrambled eggs, over cooked bacon and lumpy oatmeal. Miele searched for a while then spotted Octavia flagging her down from a table near the cafeteria exit where she sat with Lorelei and some other girls. The onyx haired girl was easy to spot in the room because she was one of the few students who dared to wear light colours, in this case it was a white t-shirt with a black cat on it looking up at a spider. As Miele seated herself she saw the shirt had 'and the itsy bitsy spider never crawled up the spout again' in bright red print to match her red skinny jeans.

"Are you sure you should wear that shirt considering your powers and your pet?" Miele chided as she poked at her oatmeal with a spoon. After determining that it wouldn't bite back, Miele stuck some in her mouth.

"I thought it was cute." Octavia countered as she took a sip of grapefruit juice. "So, I forgot to ask last night, how did you come across your dark magic?"

Miele was taken aback at that question coming from Octavia, it sounded more like something Melusina would ask. She swallowed the glob of oatmeal and coughed.

"Why do you ask that question?"

Octavia shrugged her slim shoulders. "No reason, it's just that with all the trade we do with Linphea I just know that being a witch is a rarity on that planet. Do you have any siblings who are witches?"

Miele relaxed slightly. "No, I have a sister who's a fairy but that's about it."

Lorelei's musical laughter trilled across the table. "On Linphea _everyone_ has a sister who's a fairy," she giggled, "sometimes three of them. What did she say about you coming to good old Cloud Tower?"

"She definitely wasn't happy about it." Miele replied uttering one of the understatements of the year.

Lorelei was about to ask another question, but the bell announcing the end of breakfast broke through the chatter.

"Saved by the bell." Octavia joked, having no idea how accurate her statement was in Miele's case.

Each girl waved her hand in a specific pattern, and with a bit of magic, the plates, glasses, and utensils left the table and were deposited with the rest.

"Ugh, I have incantations with Professor Zarathustra, what about you two?"

"Herbology with Professor Belladonna." Lorelei answered with a grin. "What about you Miele?"

"Witchcraft 101(1) with Ms Griffin," Miele replied softly. "I didn't know that the headmistress would be teaching a class."

"That's Griffin's MO, she likes to get to know her students' strengths and weaknesses." Octavia explained as the trio entered the hallway with the other students.

"Lovely, so I don't know when I'll see you two again."

"I'm sure we have a class together or something." Lorelei said in a reassuring tone as she and Octavia departed for their classes leaving Miele to fend for herself among the sea of students.

To say that Miele's first day of classes before lunch was uneventful was to say that Marie Antoinette received a small scratch on her neck. The fun all started with Witchcraft 101. The only task she had in her first day of that class was to form an orb of dark energy and form she did. That orb was filled with Miele's energy along with an overly friendly blue vine which reached out from the orb and tried to drag Miele into it. Luckily for her, Ms Griffin helped break the vine. However Ms Griffin warned her about daydreaming and went on to make an example of her until the bell rang.

"Ms Miele," Ms Griffin called as Miele was about to exit the classroom, "May I speak with you for a moment?"

Miele said nothing, just walked over to her teacher's desk and prepared for the lecture of a lifetime.

"I have to say I'm very disappointed in you today."

"Yes ma'am." Miele replied reluctantly.

"I've seen your sister in action, she was decent here at Cloud Tower when she came here with the Winx Club, even if she did suggest breaking into groups."

"Ma'am?"

"You've a lot of potential as a credit to this school if you can buckle down and handle the work that's given to you." Ms Griffin explained with a half smile.

"Thank you Headmistress." Miele replied feeling a blush rise to her cheeks.

"However, you really need to pull your act together if you're going to survive in this school Miele. That is all."

"Thank you Ms. Griffin, may I get a pass for my next class though? I'm going to be late as it is."

"Consider it a penance for not paying enough attention your first day." Ms Griffin replied in a stony voice and turned her attention to the papers on her desk.

Miele didn't know what else she could do except rush to her next class on the opposite end of the school.

When she reached the Potionology classroom she found Professor Edeltrude glowering at her from the comfort of her desk.

"Ms Miele, on Linphea were students allowed to be tardy?" The sharp faced professor snapped causing several other students, Lorelei included, to snicker at her expense.

"No professor." Miele allowed as she slunk towards a lab table occupied by a girl with plum coloured cornrows. She considered this a safe choice since that girl was one of the few students not enjoying the impromptu lecture.

"I'll think up a fitting punishment for you this time." Professor Edeltrude promised, "but next time will result in detention."

"Yes professor."

Miele's punishment for being late to class was to be teamed up with a rather chipper pink haired girl who at first impression seemed to be hard of hearing. As it turned out, she was really just hard of listening and caused an explosion in the form of a lime green slimy substance all over their lab table. Both girls were excused to go to the washroom and clean themselves up before their next class.

"I told you to stir counter clockwise." Miele stated tersely as she scrubbed the green goo off of her arms and out of her rose print tank top.

"But I told you I can't tell the difference." The other girl replied airily as she combed the lime coloured gunk out of her pink bob.

"Then I hope you learn before you make something else explode." Miele shot back. She then rushed out the door, praying to the higher powers that she'd never be paired with that girl again.

After Potionology came Herbology with professor Belladonna. Compared to her first two classes, Miele's herbology class was rather tame and easy. No vines, no goo, just Melusina glaring at her after she'd corrected the navy haired girl on the uses for a few plants.

"It seems we have a regular plant genius in our midst." Professor Belladonna declared happily after Miele had accurately described three main properties of a rare transportation flower only found on Eraklyon.

"I hope the rest of you ladies will take as much initiative as Miele has and be just as knowledgeable." She added before heading on to the next topic.

Miele felt the glares of every other student in the room bore into her back and head at that comment. Yes, nothing hard or grueling about Herbology class. Miele made herself a mental note to not know as much tomorrow.

After the bell rang Miele rushed out of the classroom eager to get to lunch and forget that this morning had ever happened.

Lunch was nearly the same affair as breakfast except the students were more animated. Octavia had already claimed the same table they'd sat at that morning by the time Miele picked up her tray. This time Melusina deigned to sit with them.

"So, Miele, how do you know so much about plants and their magical properties?" Melusina asked as soon as the four of them had started eating.

Miele put down the fork she'd been using to pry apart her baked potato and looked at her roommate. "What do you mean?"

"I mean even for a Linphean you seem to know a lot more about the properties of magical plants than you should."

"What's this all about?" Lorelei asked curiously as she stirred sugar into her iced tea.

"Miele showed herself to be a 'genius in magical plants' in herbology." Melusina explained using Professor Belladonna's words. "Personally I think there's more to this than meets the eye."

Octavia shrugged and cast a silent spell to cut her apple into exact slices while coring it. "Miele's from Linphea, she's a nature witch. Of course she's going to know a lot about plants." The onyx haired girl stated taking a slice of apple. "Personally I believe you're being paranoid with the idea you may be rooming with a fairy. There's nothing unusual about first year witches knowing a lot about their own powers."

Miele could've hugged Octavia for that statement in her defense.

"I'm with Melusina on this one," Lorelei countered as she stabbed at her macaroni and cheese with her spork. "I believe she's hiding something."

"Like maybe I studied before getting here?" Miele offered defensively. "So I know my plants. Don't you know your powers?"

"I do." Octavia replied. "Of course there's not much to know about bugs and web slinging, but I could definitely ace a class on arachnids." She added with a laugh.

Melusina rolled her eyes unconvinced. "I still say there's something you're not telling us." She insisted looking at Miele. "And I'm going to find out what it is."

"You do that, I'm going to eat my lunch." Miele shot back as she pried open a small container of sour cream and poured it on to her baked potato.

"You can't keep who you are a secret forever."

"Yes, but you can _both_ stop arguing so the rest of us may eat in peace." Lorelei interrupted. She may have been as curious as Melusina was to find out what Miele's secret was, but unlike Melusina she could be patient.

When lunch was over the afternoon classes commenced. Lorelei and Melusina headed off together for Witchcraft 101 leaving Miele and Octavia to wander over towards Incantations 101 with Professor Zarathustra. (2)

"She's gonna eat us alive." Octavia muttered as she took a seat next to Miele.

"What do you mean?" Miele asked curiously as other girls filed into the room. She found it hard to believe that anyone could be more frightening than Headmistress Griffin, and in all honesty the vines from her energy orb were more frightening.

"Just watch."

Zarathustra didn't eat anyone alive, but this could've been because it was the first day of classes. Instead she rattled on about meter and tone for the proper incantation then ordered each girl to write a quick incantation that didn't involve raising the dead as that night's homework. After feeling assured that her students were slightly bewildered, Professor Zarathustra then called on three girls to pick up their text books, head to the front of the room and recite the basic incantation she assigned them to see what happened. Octavia was one of the 'lucky' participants.

"But professor, we haven't studied on how to correctly pronounce the words in this spell." One of the other students protested as she approached the desk.

Miele fought the urge to duck under the table when she saw the protesting girl was the same pink haired girl from her Potionology class.

"Ms. Calliope, either you do the task or I deduct five grade points from everyone in this class." Professor Zarathustra threatened.

At that statement Miele did duck as well as a few other girls who'd had the misfortune to be in Potionology with Calliope that morning. Other students began to follow suit as Zarathustra's hawk like gaze swept over them.

Despite the outward signs of a no confidence vote Calliope, not wanting to be responsible for anyone failing the class later on in the school year did as she was asked. The words were simple, the spell was just supposed to create a bright light used to guide the caster in tunnels and caves. However in Calliope's incapable hands the spell became a large blast with a bright light knocking student and teacher on their respective derrières.

Professor Zarathustra held her head as she righted herself with the aide of her desk. "Class dismissed." She groaned.

"Remind me to _never_ team up with _that_ girl!" was whispered loudly by more than one student to her friend or acquaintance as everyone exited the class room. Calliope shuffled out behind everyone else with her head down and her bright pink hair standing on end.

After the blast in incantations Miele was eager for the silence and ease of Magical History class which she found she shared with Lorelei. This could either be a blessing or a curse depending on what the teacher decided to talk about on any given day.

Being the first day of classes the teacher, a middle aged man with his eyeglasses on a lanyard and a full head of skin introduced himself as Professor Ganymede (3) from Andros. Then he asked each student to introduce herself and tell which planet she was from and one fact about her planet.

When Lorelei's turn came, the chestnut haired witch stood up, smoothed her olive drab cargo skirt and smiled. "My name is Lorelei from Ayortha." She stated in her musical voice. "And one fact about my planet is that some of our inhabitants are nymphs who lure men to their deaths then bathe in their skin."

Miele noticed that Lorelei's smile never faltered as she stated this gruesome piece of information. But the girl next to her did look a little more green than was healthy. Professor Ganymede nodded.

"Remind me to bring ear plugs if I ever venture to Ayortha for a cruise." The teacher quipped before moving on to the next student who of course was Miele.

"I'm Miele of Linphea." Miele said in a clear voice. "And an interesting fact about my planet is that we have the Black Willow Tree whose tears can reverse time." (4)

"Maybe I'll stop there after going to Lorelei's planet." One girl joked, others laughed as well.

Tidbits and useless facts flew about the room and then professor Ganymede got down to business outlining the syllabus and projects.

Levitation class was supposed to follow magical history, but the professor in that class was still recuperating from last year's first year class in a quiet villa in the resort realm and wouldn't be back until next week. So instead all the students for that class were given a free period before their final class of the day.

After managing to avoid Melusina and Lorelei during that free period since the three of them shared seventh period levitation Miele was thankful for her final class which was Transfiguration with Professor Circe (5) a short blonde woman who demonstrated for the class what they'd be learning this year by turning herself into a realistic version of Discordia, the pixie who was bonded with Cloud Tower.

There was a long discussion about the proper way to go about transformations then before class was over it was announced that each student would be expected to be able to transform one physical feature of herself by next week.

All and all it was a very full day for the first year girls and Miele was grateful to get back to her dorm. 

**_End!_**

**Sorry for the delay in updating. I'm working two jobs and will be having my baby soon. I also just found out that I'm going to be an aunt for the first time somewhere around my birthday. I hope you all enjoyed this obligatory info chapter.**

**1.) ****Mentioned in Twinning with the Witches in season 2 when the Winx and Mirta went to Cloud Tower. And yes this class really was taught by Ms Griffin in the show.**

**2.) ****Honestly I don't know what she teaches. But I figured since she's a canon character she needed a class to teach.**

**3.) ****Greek mythology reference a shepherd whom Zeus had a relationship with. **

**4.) ****Third season reference this may pop up again later in the story.**

**5.) ****A Greek Sorceress whose specialties included potions which turned men into beasts.**


	4. So Cliche

**Alma de Hierro**

**Dedication: My reviewers, and my Beta reader Robert Teague. I can't get through this without the lot of you. **

**Disclaimer: Winx Club belongs to RAI and Viacom. I make no profit of any kind from this story.**

**Chapter Four: So Cliché **

After a few days of learning, Miele and her suitemates (because it was still too early to refer to them as friends) were slowly getting the hang of the daily grind. In fact, Magix itself seemed to be extremely peaceful and laid back. Too bad that impression had been slowly changing beneath the cover of nightfall, and was about to be brought to light by the media.

"Why are you reading the newspaper?" Miele asked Lorelei as she and Octavia slid into their usual spots at what was now their usual table. It was breakfast and Octavia was too busy downing a cup of coffee to pay any attention to her roommate's reading material, so it was up to Miele to comment.

"Well it's better than that discussion you and Octavia were having about insects at dinner last night." Lorelei replied crisply as she closed the newspaper so she could eat her food.

"It was for…" Miele stopped mid sentence and stared at the front page headline which read: **Fourth Victim in Recent Magical Energy Drain Discovered. Police Baffled.**

"Are they kidding? Someone's been going around stealing magical energy?" Miele finally choked out when she regained her voice.

"No, it's true." Melusina said as she sat herself across from Miele and began spreading cream cheese on a bagel. "But I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"What do you mean by that?" Miele asked suspiciously.

Melusina took a bite of her bagel then replied calmly. "So far, all the victims have been fairies." She looked curiously at Miele who seemed like she was about to smack her. "What did you think I was going to say?"

"Oh, who cares?" Octavia groused. "You always have something to say."

"If they were fairies, do you think someone's going to blame us?" Lorelei wondered.

"I wouldn't be too surprised." Melusina commented dryly.

Miele would've added her own thoughts, but the bell rang signaling the end of breakfast. All four girls chanted their own incantations and cleared the table before setting off for their classes.

After the usual morning classes, and a few twists on the afternoon ones with lunch in between, Miele found herself alone in her dorm room pouring over notes for her first Transfiguration exam.

"You know you can give that a break any time now." Octavia suggested as she let herself into the room.

Miele propped herself up on her elbows to look at the brunette girl. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Professor Circe's exams are a breeze, at least according to my sister." Octavia shrugged causing her curls to bounce. "Of course Vedova (1) is practically a genius, but the class still seems easy enough."

"Who's Vedova?" Miele asked curiously. She'd never heard of the name until now.

"My older sister; she graduated the same year that the Trix released Valtor."

"Oh, okay."

"Anyway, why don't you take a break from all this studying and we can check out Magix for ourselves?" Lorelei suggested with a grin as she joined Octavia in the doorway.

Miele set her notes aside knowing that she wouldn't be able to argue with Octavia, and that Lorelei would soon join in making it an unfair fight.

"So, what do you two have in mind?"

"Oh, the usual," Lorelei smirked, "deface a few signs, scare the elderly."

Octavia frowned at her roommate and Miele giggled.

"Or we could stop and grab a bite since cafeteria food is cafeteria food no matter where you go to school." The brunette amended. "Besides I want to see if this place has a decent music store."

"Sounds good to me." Miele replied reaching for the nearest pocketbook she could find and slipping her phone into one of the pockets. "I could use a change of scenery anyway."

"I don't see why Magix wouldn't have a decent music shop." Octavia opined as they walked out towards the bus stop. "This is the capitol of the Magical Dimension after all."

"Good point." Lorelei agreed as the bus came into view.

On the ride into downtown Magix the trio discussed a few different subjects, including how snarky Melusina could be, Professor Ganymede's final project and the news from that morning about the mysterious attacks. The last subject drew the most excitement, mainly from Octavia. The onyx-haired girl continued to speculate on the matter as they exited the shuttle in front of a bakery.

"Well, the only beings I know that are capable of draining energy in that fashion are the nymphs in my realm." Lorelei offered as Octavia wondered aloud about what could be behind the energy drains.

"Do they often travel to other realms?" Miele asked nervously as the trio entered a diner and sat down at the counter.

"No, thankfully for the rest of the dimension they're restricted to certain bays and lagoons in the southern part of my planet."

"At least we've ruled out one possible suspect." Octavia announced as Miele breathed a sigh of relief. "But now we need to find out who it could be."

"Why would we want to go and do a thing like that?" Lorelei wondered as the waitress behind the counter handed out glasses of water and menus to the three girls.

"Yeah, the paper said it was only the fourth incident, and the police were looking into how it happened." Miele added. "We should leave it to the authorities anyway. I mean that's what the citizens of Magix pay taxes for right?"

"It didn't stop the Winx Club." Octavia argued back. "They defeated the Trix and saved Magix when they were first years at Alfea. "

"Yes, and look at all the trouble they got into after that." Lorelei countered taking a sip of water. "After the Trix there was Darkar, and then Valtor, then the Black Circle, and the list goes on.

Who wants that, right? You save one princess and prevent an evil take over and suddenly you have to protect the magical dimension from an outbreak of super spider ninjas or something!"

"Spider ninjas?" Octavia asked incredulously

"It could happen."

"Are you ladies ready to order?" The waitress interrupted looking expectantly at the trio.

"Just a turkey club and onion rings for me, thanks" Miele answered, grateful for a change in topic. Even if it was only a temporary change.

"I'll have the tomato soup and half a grilled cheese sandwich." Octavia ordered quickly.

"And _I'll_ have the bacon double cheeseburger and a side of chili cheese fries." Lorelei replied with a grin. "Oh, and a large chocolate milkshake too."

The waitress looked Lorelei over with a critical eye obviously wondering where the tall, willowy girl planned on putting her food.

"Hey, a girl has to keep up her strength somehow!"

The waitress shrugged and placed their orders. About fifteen minutes later the food came out and Lorelei wasted no time digging in.

"Do you have a hollow leg or something?" Octavia asked. The only time she'd ever seen people eat the way her roommate did was back on her home world when someone was allowing themselves to be a hive for the insects they controlled. It was almost a parasitic relationship, and the insects survived on the person's life force, using small amounts so as not to accidentally kill their host. Using insects this way also required a lot of energy so those people also had a high caloric intake.

"No, I just have a very high metabolism." Lorelei returned between sips of her milk shake. "My step mom always worries I'll eat her out of house and home."

'There's nothing wrong with having a healthy appetite." Miele added supportively. "My older sister is pregnant, you should see how she eats sometimes!"

The girls continued to talk about their families and home worlds. Octavia tried a few times to pry more information from Miele about her family- such as her sister's name. But all her attempts were futile aside from Miele revealing that her sister had attended Alfea around the same time the Trix first appeared and tried to steal the Dragon Flame..

"So, she must have known the Winx right?" Octavia pressed as she finished the last bite of her sandwich half.

Miele shrugged. "She knew _of_ them," the red haired girl allowed, "but Alfea is a large school you know."

"Didn't she at least know Flora since they're from the same planet?"

"Linphea is a large planet too. Just because a member of the Winx Club is from that realm and is our Guardian Fairy, it doesn't mean we know her personally."

Octavia opened her mouth to pester more information from her suitemate, but Lorelei interrupted, much to Miele's relief.

"As much as I'm sure Miele is enjoying her private interrogation, I believe we should get going before we miss curfew and end up scrubbing the dungeon as penance." Lorelei suggested as she picked up the three checks the waitress had left and distributed them to her companions.

"I agree, besides with that person or what have you skulking around draining energy I don't want to be out here too much longer." Miele admitted as she led the way to the cash register.

"Yes, we don't want the boogey man to get us." Octavia teased, leaving a few bills on the counter as a tip.

Lorelei just rolled her eyes as the bills were paid and the three girls walked out onto the darkening streets of downtown Magix.

"I didn't realize it was so late." Miele commented as she pulled out her phone to check the time. "It's after six, if we don't hurry we'll miss the shuttle and end up waiting thirty minutes for the next one."

"So we'll just take a short cut, like this one over here." Octavia put in, stopping at an alley that led to the next street over where the girls would need to catch the shuttle back to Cloud Tower.

"A dark alley, how very quaint." Lorelei deadpanned. "Was the rat infested sewer in another story?"

"But what if we run into whatever's been attacking those fairies?" Miele asked trying not to sound worried. By the look on Octavia's face, she had failed.

"We're witches in training, Miele, not some first year fairies." Octavia replied slowly as if explaining something to a toddler. "If someone comes after us, we'll show them what a Cloud Tower student can do."

With that, the witch from Arachna brushed her onyx hair off her shoulder and strode confidently through the alleyway with Lorelei behind her. Miele had no choice but to chase after them.

As the trio neared the end of the alley Octavia turned to her companions with a smug grin on her face. "See, I _told_ you there was nothing…" She began, but a loud clang and a hiss followed by a feral growl cut off the rest of her triumphant sentence. Octavia raced out onto the main sidewalk with Miele and Lorelei nearly bowling her over.

"What was that?" Lorelei panted looking at her suitemates.

Miele braved a glance back into the alley just in time to see two cats battling over some scraps. "Cats!," she announced in disbelief, "we were scared by some _cats_."

"No _you_ two were scared by cats." Octavia sputtered, "I _knew _there was nothing to worry about."

"Yes, which is why you lead us in our race out of there." Lorelei replied skeptically. Miele nodded her agreement.

Octavia had the grace to turn pink and look down at her feet. "Let's just vow not to speak of it again." She muttered.

Lorelei and Miele were quick to agree because who in their right mind would want to be known as a trio of witches who were scared off by some cats? As they turned towards the bus stop where the headlights of an upcoming shuttle were just visible, Lorelei looked behind them to confirm there were just two cats still fighting, it sounded as though a third presence had appeared in the alleyway- to her sensitive ears at least. What she saw was disconcerting in the least, it seemed as though a shadowy figure was trying to consume the energy of the two cats that had just been fighting.

"Hey Lore, are you coming or what?" Octavia demanded seeing that her roommate was still planted. Miele was already at the bus stop convincing the shuttle driver to wait for her suitemates (2)

"Yes, sorry, my shoe just came untied." Lorelei shook her head quickly to clear the image from her mind and jogged to catch up with her friend. She had no intention of sharing what she had just seen because she doubted anyone would believe it.

**Finally after over a year I have updated! The problem was I didn't know how to finish this chapter. Thanks everyone for being so patient. I moved last year after having my baby and I'm finally able to start over again! **

**Italian for black widow spider. At least according to an Italian to English dictionary I found online. It's fitting since their planet deals with spiders and such.**

**It just seems too early for everyone to be friends yet. Don't worry they will be eventually.**


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